Method of reclaiming land.



No. 859.623 PATBNTBD JULY 9, 1907. J. W. sYKBs, METHOD 0F REGLAIMING LAND.

AFPLIATION FILED APE. 20.*1907.

2 SHEETS- SHEET l.

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No. 859,628. f i 'PATLNTLD JULY 9., 1907.

J. W. sYKEs. A

l MLTHoD or". RLCLAIMING LAND.

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L lmln I K I. S

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represents a pumping-plant which-may lbe employed -the inclosure.

A fices to provide a dike at three y cent to which is a .maui ditchoanal A2; Miepresents UNITED STATES,

JOHN-w.- sYKEs, or o HioAGo, I'L'LlNors.

METHOD g OF. RECLAIMING LAND.

To all whom it may crmcern: v

'Be it known that I, JOHN W. SYKEs, a citizen of the nited States, residing at Chicago, in the county of i Cook andState of Illinois, have'invented new and useful Improvement in Methodsof Reclaiming Land, otwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates particularly to a method of re-v claiming swamp-lands or lowlands; and my primary object is to provide a method-whereby such lands may be reclaimed at moderate expense.

As is well known, there are hundreds of thousands of acres oi lowlands in the southern part 'of the'United States whiclrhave heretofore been irreclaima-ble, be-

` cause of the lack of any practicable method of effecting drainage, except at a prohibitive expense. Such lands, when reclaimed, are veryyaluable because of the exceedingly rich soilwliich they possess.

l According to my method, in effecting reclaimingnof lowlands havinga soil saturated with Water, or where the I surface of the soil is covered with only a -few inches of water, the section of land to be reclaimed is surrounded by a dike or levee with a canal adjacent thereto, the inclosure is then o'oded withwater to a suffcient depth to float a dredge-scour, after which the land iscut by small parallel drainage ditches connecting with the large canals ladjacent to the dikes.- i The water is en vdrawn off, and the land is readyior tillage, In c s where theland is naturally flooded to a sufficient def/lll to supporta dredge boat, the dike is built, small drainag" channels are cut, and the water is then Withdrawn -from I haye illustrated my process in the-accompanying drawing, in which Figure l represents a plan view of a section of land under lprocess oi reclaiming; Fig. 2 represents a. broken sectional-view taken as indicated at line 2 of Figi; and- Fig. 3 represents a sectionalview, illustrating a situation where the land is sloping and where itsufsides of the inclbsure.

Referring to the drawing, A represents an inclosed section of land' surrounded by a dike or levee A adjala series of parallel small drainage ditches communicating .with the main canal; B represents a'dredge employed in ycutting the small drainage ditches; and C either to flood .the inclosure or to remove the water in case of necessity.

I have illustrated the -position where a section of land adjacent to a river Dis to be reclaimed. In such case, `a dredge-boat may enter from the river, cutting its own channel o, and continuing, cutting the canal A2 and building the dike A', The dilce A maybe constructed accordingto any approved method of dike construction. In pincticc, tho peat or layer of de Specification of Letters Patent. Application ined .ip rn 2o, 1907. serial No. 369,333.

caycd vegetable matter which constitutes the top Patented .my dino?.

channel While the work of cutting the channel pro-4 gressesl In the operation ofV cutting Ithe small drainage channels A3, it isnecessaryior .the boat to-loat upon water covering the. ground, and, for this purpose the inclosure-is filled I float the boat, the waterelevel being indicated in Fig. 2 bya2. Any suitable dredge maybe employed for digging the s'rnalll drainage channels. The dredge which I prefer to 'use is a suctionedredge, by means or' which the layer of earth which is composed largelyof decayed vegetable-matter may he sucked up as the dredge-boat moties. over 'its course and 'discharged' over the area b'etiv'eeii the'smll ditches, thus obviating the establishment banks which might prevent water from gaining ready access to the small drainage channels-and at the same time-rendering tillable all' of the with water to sufficient depth to'4 l layer of the earth is removed that aiclay formation may be employed inthe dike construction, the peat' landlbetwee'n the drainage ditches. In Fig. 2, a@ repj constructed about three sides of the ground which is to' be reclaimed, vthere being adjacent to the dike the canal A".` When the inclosure is flooded to a suflicient depth to'fioat a dredge-boat the small drainage ditches may becut in themnner. already described.

It is observed'thatonoe the dike is constructed', the

work -of cutting .the small-drainage channels may be performed et a very rapid rate, asmy method renders itunnecesearyto remove any more material in forining. the small drainage channels than is necessary for drainage purposes. Thus, it is unnecessary to cut a channel of suicient width and 'depth to oat the dredge boat, asis the case when the main dike is being constructed under ordinary conditions. Inasmuch as it is desirable ordinarily tao-'space the small drainage channels about 150feet tozZOfeet apart, an understanding of the immense value of my process may he reached. The method provides a way in which lands which aro worth, when reclaimed, from $100 to $400 per acre may be reclaimed at-a comparatively insignificant A cost per acre. It should be added that in locations ',where my process will ordinarily be employed. tho

(like construction is commonly a necessity. inasmuch as those lands frequently lie practically at sca-level,

It is noteworthy that my process provides for the use oi heavy and powerful machinery which otherwise l() could not be used on lands of marshy,soft, or miry character, thereby enabling the work to be done at a very rapid rete7 this clement of time-saving being doubly important because ol the liability of the drainage ditches to become lled before the Work can be l completed to such an extent as to allow the water to be drawn off so that the ground will assume the necessary stability. to prevent the natural filling in oi the drainage ditches which would otherwise occur. Thus, an undertaking, which, 'under old methods, is slow, laborious and very expensive and uncertain, is, under the new process, (in easy and certain undertaking of relatively insignificant expense,

Itis obvious that my method is available for the purpose of rre-digging or cleaning out old ditches, which is desirable from time to time; 4hencfc, the appended claims are to be broadly construed to coi/er my method for such purpose, as Well as the purpose of cutting original drainage-channels.

Wh'at'I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The method of reclaiming land, which consists in constructing n dike to form an inciosure` employing a dredge-bont supported upon Water covering the land and cnttlnl dralnige channels, and then removing the water which served, during the process of cuitini.: the drulnnn'c channels, from the surface of the land.

2. 'lhe method of reclaiming hind which consists in floating,y drediflngmpparatus upon water covering,r the snrface of the land, cutting drainage channels in the land hy means of salddredglnglappuratus, and afterwards withdrawing,r the water from the submerged land.

El. The method of recluiininir land which consists in constructing a dike to malntnin water upon the surface of the lnnd, covering the land to lic reclaimed with water of sufficient depth to support n' dredge-boat, llouiim.,r a dredgeboat upon the wutcr and cuttingr drainage channels in the land. and then withdrawing; the water submcrxrineY the land.

4, 'lhe method of reclaiming llud which consists in con struciing n dike to form un inclosure with n nniin channel at the inner side of the dike, floatingy dredginir-nyumrutus upon water covering,r the land and cutting therewith small drainage channels in the land and interscctiru.,r the mail] channel. and then withdrawing' the water Whichsnhmerges the land.

rlhe method of reclaiming,r land which consists in constructing* n dike f or retainingY water upon the land and providinpfa main channel within the inclosure adjacent to the dike. flooding the la'nd within the inclosurel with water to n suilcient depth to support a dredge-hout. employing lloatlm,lr dredging-apparatus and therewith cutting rela tively small drainage channels in the land, 41nd finally withdrawingr from the inclosure the water which submerges the lnnd.

0. 'lhe method of reclaiming land which consists` in floatingr a dredge-boat over the surface of the land, cuttingr drainage channels in the land and distributing the spoils` in the water covering the land in the spaces between the drainage ditches, und finally withdrawing the water from the surface of -the landV .itil-IN W. SYKICS. In the presence of- A. U. THORIEN, R. A. ScHAnFnn. 

